Cowin and IncorporatedBeckley No. 1 Mine Hoisting Disaster

A machinery-type accident at the shaft-sinking operation for this mine resulted in the deaths of three employees and injuries to three other employees.

Employees were in the process of lowering the platform being used to line the shaft with cement.

Immediately after the two hoisting devices were activated and the platform lowering operations started, the mobile-crane hoisting rope broke and the crane boom recoiled to a vertical position. The platform then plunged to the bottom of the shaft.

The fatal victims were Clyde Fowler, Edgar Adams, and William R. Simpson.